6 preme pleasure of confcious goodness: yours fhall be the care of the Eternal Providence, and the prayers and bleffings of Solyman and Almena,' Such is the epitome of this Eaftern Tale, which is interfperfed with fome entertaining Episodes, and enlivened with feveral poetical pieces, penned with pleafing harmony and fimplicity of ftyle. The following fong, fuppofed to be written by Almena, while confined in the caftle of Sevafir, may ferve as a specimen. I. 'Tis o'er-the pleafing profpect's o'er ! 11. Gay hope, and eafe, and joy, and reft, That has not where to lay her head, III. It comes! I feel the painful woe- Who, wan'dring o'er fome mountain drear And calls on me in vain. IV. Perhaps, along the lonely fhores, V. Ah! no-the cruel thought forbear! And SOLYMAN may live! Upon the whole, though we do not think the conduct of this piece equal to what might have been expected from a Writer, S 4 Writer, who has given fuch early fpecimens of a fine imagina tion and a lively fancy; yet, when we confider the defign and tendency of the ftory, candour, though it cannot conceal, will fhade its few defects, for the fake of the ufeful inftruction it conveys. R-d An Enquiry into the Means of improving Medical Knowlege, by examining all thofe Methods which have hindered, or increased, its Improvement in all paft Ages. To which is added, an Explanation of the Motion and Action of Fire, in and upon the human Body, both in continuing Life, and in producing and curing Difeafes. By William Hillary, M. D. 8vo. Hitch. 65. HIS gentleman, who feems better qualified by his observation and experience to act in his profeffion, than by his genius to write with perfpicuity and a proper digeftion of his fubject, informs us in his Preface of his purpofing to leave this work as a pofthumous tract; but fome perfons of distinction and learning happening by chance to fee it, and thinking it contained fome things both new and useful, defired he would publish it now." Our furprize at this declaration, after the utmost attention to the work, was abated by reflecting, that all perfons of diftinction might not excel! in diftinguishing; and that fome persons of learning, in other languages perhaps, might be incompetent judges of ours, from their being foreigners. As to any novelty in this work, it confifts chiefly in the unusual style and manner of it, the materials being borrowed from Le Clerc's and Friend's Hiftorics of Phyfic. We do not, however, impute any plagiarism to Dr. Hillary on this account, as he refers very frequently to the former, and not seldom to the latter; though we may obferve, that Compilers at a fecond or third hand, have a much easier task than the first researchers into antique knowlege, and that a smaller portion of literature and of penetration, may and does generally fuffice them. With regard to any great usefulness, which his friends might difcern, and which we feriously think the Doctor intended both to himself and his Readers from this performance; we are convinced, that if it had contained much more than we are able to difcern in it, lefs utility muft have refulted to his Reade s, from the confufed and difagreeable manner in which he he retails his materials. For though we fhould even fubfcribe to Dr. Hillary's profeffed contempt of accuracy and elegance, which he leaves to fuperficial critics and pedants; yet his want of perfpicuity, from a defect in grammar, in idiom, and in the common ufe and meaning of fome English particles, is truly unpardonable, as it prevents him, and not very feldom, from being intelligible or elfe gives his Readers the fatigue of fupplying fuch chafms and alterations, as are neceffary to make his book read, as we fay, with tolerable coherence. But to come to the matter of his book, which, notwithftanding the many unimportant and tedious repetitions of the very fame things, is feldom fo indifferent as the manner of it: the title of the first Section is," Of the first rise of Medical Knowlege."-And here contenting himself, as others have been forced to do, with hurrying very curforily through the earliest ages, for want of any medical accounts or treatises; and having mentioned Æfculapius and Pythagoras only, out of a much greater number collected by Le Clerc; he proceeds to contract what that very learned Physician had judiciously felected concerning the character, the writings, and practice of the great Hippocrates. Now, notwithstanding there are of course many truths and juft obfervations in what our Author has read and re-printed on this occafion, it will feem to the Readers of Le Clerc, upon the whole, rather a disagreeable mutilation, than a judicious abstract, of the compleat and well-digefted representation which that Writer has given of this great Phyfician. Among fome other trifling remarks, Dr. Hillary tells us, as one proof of the great penetration and affiduity of Hippocrates, "It was by obfervation and reafoning that he saw that the human body, from its first rudiments to its diffolution, was fupported by, and compofed of, food*; and confequently the nature of the diet of men was of the greatest importance.' Now, feriously, is there that mortal breathing, who is not profound enough to fee or observe the first part of this propofition; or who has fo little fenfibility as not to be daily convinced, that he cannot wholesomely feed like a bird, a beaft, or a fish? It is more material when he evinces, in oppofition to fuch Phyficians as affirm Hippocrates to have had no theory, that he had fuch a one as was constructed on his affiduous obfervations, and his rational deductions from them, xara Buri Sewpewv, as he called it; κατα Φυσιν θεωρεων, For Worms, or Cannibals perhaps. that that is, theorizing according to nature. It is impoffible, indeed, from thefe paffages in his works to which Dr. Hillary refers, and from many others, to imagine he did not reason and meditate in his profeffion in a manly, and often in a very happy manner; efpecially if we confider his ignorance of the circulation of the blood, and of the fanctorian excretions, his very imperfect anatomy, and his want of many modern phyfiological difcoveries. Dr. Hillary feems to prove Dr. Friend's having been miftaken in affirming, that Hippocrates never confidered sweating as an inftrument of health, but only as a fymptom, from which to prognofticate; and in his adding, there is no remedy directed to provoke a sweat in any of those books allowed to be truly Hippocratic. Befides fome other paffages, to which our Author refers on this point, he gives the conftruction of a fentence or two occurring in the book περι Towwv, concerning the parts, which book has very generally been fuppofed genuine. Our Author's conftruction, page 47, contains, in effect, the fenfe of Hippocrates in this paffage, though not as closely rendered, as our idiom will easily admit. We refer to the original below*, at length, for the fatisfaction of our learned Medical Readers, as it is pretty express on the point, and makes Dr. Friend's over-fight the more remarkable. The fecond Section profeffes to treat-Of the Improvement of Medicine after the time of Hippocrates.As this is expreffed without limitation to any time or period, the Reader might suppose it extended to the prefent century; but he will find it terminate in the fixteenth. This must be fuppofed to include the ftate of Phyfic among the antient Romans, the Arabians, and the Europeans, to that time; and, indeed, the whole makes a very crude ollio, or medley, under our Author's Cookery. He tells us, "That as neither Theffalus, Draco, nor Polybus, the two fons and fon-in-law of Hippocrates, (who were all Physicians) have left us any of their works, that are come to our hands, &c. he fhall pafs them over." και πιών ύδωρ θερμόν, * μελικραίον, την όξος συν ὕδατι. ταύτα δε πιπίσκειν ως πλεισα. ην γαρ μη ψυχρον έστη το πόλον, θερμον εον, και μενον, εκ τε σώματος το νοσέοντες αφαιρέει, την τε διέρηση εν τε διίδρωση, παύτη δε ανοιγόμενον τε και αναπνεον, και κινεμένον το σωμα συμφέρον ποιησει. De Locis in Homine, P. 418. Edit Foësü. This feems to affirm, that some of their works, which they have never left us, are come to our hands: which is not eafily comprehended. We are told literally, p. 75, "That Celfus blames the dogmatifts for pretending to explain fome things, which their then knowlege of the animal oeconomy, without knowing it better, and the laws of motion also, they could not explain." This we likewife fubmit to the penetration of our Readers. After fome reflections on the ill effects of indulging hypothefes too much, we are told verbatim, "There have been others, who from too much indolence or pride, to fervilely watch and follow nature in fuch a manner, or were in too great hafte to be rich; and being pushed on by vanity and conceit of their own abilities, have fet themfelves up for reformers of the Medical Art, [our Author himself being profeffedly one] and having by much Aattery and great complaifance, and fome other low arts, acquired a great name, have impofed themselves upon the credulous and the ignorant vulgar, for men of fuperior abilities; and have so gained much practice." This is one of our Author's many extraordinary digreffions; and though the meaning is evident, in fpight of its odd ftructure, we are at a lofs to discover how all this pains, all this flattery, and all these low arts of other nameless Phyficians, are compatible with either indolence or pride. Our Author is not lefs myfterious, when, having informed us, "That Diofcorides was fo defirous of knowing the real virtues and effects of plants by experience, that he frequently tried their effects upon himfelf;" (which was as honeft as Dr. Storck's taking hemlock before he prescribed it) he repeats the account of his dying by a dofe of the Aconitum or Solanum lethale, which are differrent, though deleterious plants: and having obferved, "that Diofcorides defcribed its effects and fymptoms, till he laid down his pen and expired his last breath," our Author adds, "And thus he loft his life by endeavouring to discover the means of preferving the life of others." But as he has not informed us that Difcorides took any antidote against this poyfon, it looks as if he loft his life in endeavouring to inform pofterity after what manner, and with what symptoms, it poifoned himself; fuppofing its poifonous quality to have been previously known. Dr. Hillary, concluding his abridgment of the Improvements made by the Greek and Roman Phyficians with P. Ægineta, who flourished about the feventh century; after fome reflections of his own, the fubftance of which is better than |